


Cheers (Drink To That)

by sephmeadowes



Category: Original Work
Genre: Best Friends, College, F/M, Handsome Boys That Read Petrach, Underage Drinking, Unrequited Love, balconies, martinis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26276179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sephmeadowes/pseuds/sephmeadowes
Summary: Love could come in many flavors and hers tasted like gin and false hope.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	Cheers (Drink To That)

Laura was a social drinker. The only time she ever had liquor was when somebody was drinking with her. It had been the shy girl trying to fit in during high school that bled over to her college life. By the time she was graduating, she hadn’t remembered a month where she hadn’t spent a night with empty bottles and shot glasses.

It got worse when she became friends with Nate. He was all ambition and confidence. He made everything look easy from academics to sports to fucking karaoke scores. He was also distractingly hot and she hadn’t been the only one who noticed.

She introduced Nate to his new girlfriend by accident. She had been going to a party at Nate’s apartment and had brought along her new roommate since her old one had not come back for the semester. Next thing she knew they were celebrating their one year anniversary and she was eating instant noodles alone on her couch. It probably didn’t help that she actually liked Stacey who was sweetness and sunshine personified.

The night before their graduation ceremony, Stacey was busy with some family emergency and that left Laura and Nate alone in his apartment which hadn’t happened in a very long time. They tried to pretend it hadn’t felt incredibly awkward as Nate went about making martinis before them. He liked the Duke’s Martini which was ice cold gin, a splash of vermouth, and garnished with a lemon peel. He served hers with orange bitters and she clutched the frozen glass in her hand as they made their way to the balcony.

She’d always had an appreciation for balconies. Growing up in a tiny apartment with her parents always fighting nearby, she’d always retreated to the balcony and stared at the view. The view from Nate’s apartment was twice prettier than the one she grew up in. She could see the docks all the way to the train station at the end of town.

Laura took her first sip of her martini and swallowed through the shock of the icy gin. Nate was already nearly finished with his before he said he needed to get something. He went back inside and she stared into the horizon, the sun disappearing as dusk set in. It was her favorite time of night, right before the stars came out. Nate’s had always been in the afternoon when the world was golden.

“Found it,” Nate was back and he handed her a book. “Sorry. I didn’t have time to wrap it.”

He took her half-empty glass so she could look at the book cover properly. _The Poetry of Petrarch_. She opened it to the first page and read the message in Nate’s messy handwriting. _To Laura, may you sing of Love in such novel fashion. Your friend always, Nate._

“What does that mean?” she asked. “Love in such a novel fashion?”

He placed down the martini glass on the floor and took the book from her, flipping to a specific page. He began to read aloud.

_“I’d sing of Love in such a novel fashion that from cruel side I would draw by force,”_ he recited. _“A thousand sighs a day, kindling again in her cold mind a thousand desires.”_

“I don’t…I don’t know what that means.”

She never liked poetry. She had always preferred it when people were more direct. Expressive, flowery language confused her. Especially when she did not like the sinking feeling in her stomach as Nate recited those words.

“Petrarch had feelings for this woman named Laura,” he explained. “He was obsessed with her really and he wrote hundreds of poems about his unrequited love. When I met you for the first time, your name reminded me of his work.”

“And?”

“I just wanted to share this with you,” He smiled softly. “You’re my best friend.”

It was a simple fact, blunt and to the point like she preferred.

“I know,” she replied. “But you know I don’t care for poetry.”

“You didn’t care for martinis over two years ago and yet here we are, drinking at my apartment,” He gave her a look. “Give the poems a shot. You might like them, you might hate them. Either way, please accept my humble gift.”

“Fine.”

Thankfully, Nate went back inside to make more martinis and left her blissfully alone. She clutched the book in her arms, trying to ignore that sinking feeling in her stomach that made her feel insignificant. Like one of the many boats lost at sea, she wanted to feel anchored. And Nate, wonderful Nate, had felt like the first sight of shore, of freedom.

She shouldn’t be there at this time with him alone. It wasn’t her place and she began to finally realize it had never been. She opened the book again to that page he’d marked. _Like one who feels regret when it’s too late, for causing someone’s suffering by mistake…_

Nate came back and handed her a new glass. They drank all night and she laughed at his jokes. They recounted endless stories of their college days, before Stacey was even part of their lives and it was just the two of them against the world. Love could come in many flavors and hers tasted like gin and false hope.


End file.
